Sen. Jerry Moran takes aim at ticket scalpers

If you paid a lot of money for Sunday’s Chiefs game, there’s probably a reason for that.

Scalpers use sophisticated computer programs these days to snatch up tickets, and that drives up their cost.

Who’s left in the cold? You consumers who wind up paying top dollar for the games and concerts you attend.

Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran is now tackling this issue with legislation that he says would end the practice.

In fact, he’s called a hearing for Tuesday. Moran is chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security Subcommittee.

“Scalpers have long been driving up ticket prices and harming consumers, but their methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated,” Moran said in a statement. “It’s hard enough to get tickets to high-profile events without the added struggle of having to battle bots online. My legislation seeks to put an end to this practice, and I plan to chair a hearing on this important legislation next week as we work to protect consumers from fraud and level the playing field for all Americans.”

“We support any bill that allows Kansas patrons equal access to all tickets that are available for our events,” Boleski said. “Those that use computer programs to circumvent ticketing systems protocols should not be able to acquire large quantities of tickets only to put them out for resell to the general public at a higher price.”

Pandora-Ticketfly Head of Public Policy Katie Peters added, “Scalpers siphon off nearly $5 billion in concert ticket revenue every year, hurting people across the music ecosystem – from fans and artists, to their local concert venues and promoters.”